Open Meetings Law FAQ 7

How specific does the notice of a closed session need to be?

The legislature has recognized that
there are important interests that will be served by allowing certain
governmental business to be conducted in closed session. Wis. Stat.
sec.19.85. On the other hand, the public has an indisputable interest
in being informed about the matters to be discussed and acted upon by a
governmental body at a meeting. This interest is reflected in the
requirement for public notice of public meetings set forth in
sec.19.84(2) which provides:

Every public notice of a meeting shall set forth the time, date, place and subject matter of the meeting, including that intended for consideration at any closed session, in such form as is reasonably likely to apprise members of the public and news media thereof. [Emphasis added].

As to the basic notice requirement, the attorney general has indicated:

This provision
does not require a governmental body to utilize a detailed agenda. Many
governmental bodies, by custom or procedural rule, do utilize a detailed
agenda which is in itself suitable for publishing, posting and delivery
to any official newspaper or members of the news media. The notice
utilized should be as specific as possible. The intent of the new law is
clear. The public is entitled to the best notice which can be given
(emphasis added).

63 Op. Att'y Gen. 143, 144 (1977).

Commentators on the Wisconsin Open
Meetings Law have stated that a general recitation of the statutory
exemption language relied upon for the proposed closed session would not
provide sufficient notice. Natkins & Schneider, Understanding
Wisconsin's Open Meetings Law, sec. 6.6, 52 (1994). It is also apparent
that such notice or a notice that would give some generalized indication
of the subject matter to be discussed during a closed session would not
constitute the "best notice which can be given" under the law. Instead,
the obligation to provide the "best notice which can be given" requires
that the closed session notice be as specific as possible without
compromising the interests served by the proposed closed session. Thus,
the closed session and notice interests, although competing, are
furthered to the greatest extent possible.